TORI GLARED openly at the second prince below her before she went inside her room, not bothering to look back as she closed her doors that connected to her balcony. She pulled the rope to ring the bell, a few minutes later, Lily came in. The latter's handmaiden uniform was wrinkled and her hair was not properly kept, a contrast from what she was used to. But Tori did not mind the slightest.

"Give a hand to the second prince," Tori commanded Lily as she sat on a chair. "And prepare me some Chamomile Tea."

"Yes, Lady Tori."

Lily immediately trotted away from her mistress' room. Tori crossed her legs and arms as she waited for Lily's return when a warm whisper startled her. Her hand automatically moved. She grabbed the nearest quill and she sharply turned to stab the person's neck who was so near to hers when a pair of golden eyes met her ruby ones.

Sneaky bastard.

"I never knew you have a talent for opening what's supposed to be locked." Tori relaxed as she subtly let go of her quill back to her desk.

A serious-looking second prince walked inside her room. He did not answer her. Instead, he proceeded to lock the room's door before he came back in front of her. He was sitting comfortably on her bed while Tori was sitting a meter away from him. The whole time, Tori's eyebrows were knotted as she observed his homey attitude inside her room as if he knew the place like the back of his palm.

Her train of thoughts was interrupted when Prince Corean spoke. "It was you, right." His tone was a statement.

So you already heard, huh. I thought that you'll be the last one to know. After all, you were preoccupied looking after Tessa who you just found near the Back Alley.

Tori let go of Tessa as her purpose was finally finished. She got no interest in the latter after learning what her role was in the original plot. Tessa simply existed to kill the second prince. But what is Tessa's context? She is both a commoner and a breadwinner in her family of nine. Thanks to my vassals, namely the two crown princes and one young duke, I cornered Tessa.

Anytime now, she will be leaving this country with her family, forever. And again, that's thanks to Duke Rowan who will ship them across the borders of the empire while Crown Prince Yei Lin will be waiting in a ship along with the Ming Country's envoy that will reroute to the Kingdom of Monakre.

"I believe I am not following you well, your highness." Tori offered Prince Corean her best innocent smile. It was always fun for Tori to pretend stupid and weak in front of everyone.

Tori's smile slipped when Prince Corean was giving him a no-nonsense look. He was fuming mad, as always. She did not want to admit but sometimes, Tori would remember the second prince's smiling face out of nowhere. "Okay fine. I planned the accident for this afternoon. No one died so why are you fuming like I killed someone?"

I saved your ass. Thank you very much, you jerk.

A knock interrupted the second prince. "Lady Tori, I could not find what you are asking. Should I inform the knights?"

Tori replied immediately, "No need, Lily. You can go now. I won't need the tea, thank you."

"Good night, Lady Tori."

The moment they heard Lily's footsteps walking away from the door of her room, Prince Corean continued.

"Where is she? If you can control a country like the Ming Country easily without leaving your room, it will be a piece of cake for you to dispose of someone you hate the most. Hate me Lady Victoria but don't touch Tessa. She's under my protection."

Tori's façade broke like a string being snapped from the shear strength of being stretched too much. She stood up and closed the distance between her and the second prince. Pushing him down her bed, Tori straddled the second prince with no remorse.

Smiling wickedly while sitting above the shell-shocked prince, Tori crouched to Prince Corean's right ear. Both of her hands were both on his head's sides to balance her body above him as she whispered with malice. "She's under your protection? That one person who only existed just to kill you? I am the one who's protecting you this entire time. A simple thank you will suffice your highness."

Tori whispered while gritting her teeth with controlled anger. Her little trip to memory lane affected her reasoning. This was the reason why she hated emotions, they led to uncontrollable actions. But this time, Tori wanted to lash out with Prince Corean's four last words.

The words she longed to hear when she was still Talia. No, she still longed for those words but she did not dare to hope anymore. Happiness was a myth for her. And she did not need a myth inside a world where she was fighting every second just to live.

"I. Saved. You. Corean Shuia Eckrett. Not her, not them, but me. So be a good boy and show me some gratitude." She kissed his sharp right jaw harshly. No, she nipped his jaw with her teeth. When she felt him getting rigid below her body, Tori licked her masterpiece that incited a low groan from him. She could not help but smile slyly against his soft skin and warm skin.

"Now your-''

Tori's next words were replaced by a gasp when Prince Corean flipped her. The next moment, she was the one below him as he straddled her. But unlike what she did, the second prince devoured her lips like a beast starved his entire life. Tori eyes grew wide as she met his daring golden eyes.

And slowly, her body betrayed her.

Her unmoving lips moved in sync with his. Her wailing limbs which were flailing a second ago stopped like they were melted a glazier touched by molten lava. Closing her eyes, Tori linked her arms around his nape to deepen the searing kiss.

What is this? Why am I responding like a sex-starved woman to the man who will betray me any moment from now? Why? With this position, he can easily kill me. Why am I letting him?

Just as Tori was about to surrender, Prince Corean cut the enchanting moment. He distanced himself from her as if she was a plague.

Standing in front of her bed, Prince Corean looked at her with a mocking grin on his face. Gone was the passionate look he had earlier and was replaced by a sinister cold one that Tori grew to loathe in few seconds. "At the end, you are only a woman playing politics."

Tori steeled herself as she gracefully sat on her bed, she gave him a sly smile before she flipped her hair and touched her swollen lips. "Is that so? Then why are you acting like a virgin noble lady? I should be the one doing that. Besides, you are my fiancé. You own my body, your highness."

You will not break me. No one can. Not even you, my only chosen king.

Prince Corean kneeled on the bed and grabbed her shoulders with a smirking face. His face a few inches above her so she had to tilt her head to meet his gaze. "Keep believing in that, my sweet fiancé. But will find Tessa only then, will I consider my betrothal to you."

Prince Corean leaned to kiss the corner of her lips before he walked away towards the balcony's door where he came in earlier. Without looking back, the second prince's silhouette vanished leaving Tori seething.

I did not let you live just to defy me like this, Corean!

A HOODED figure trod the dangerous Pivet Alley. With a single knight as a companion, the person walked with confidence in the dead of the night. Every step was calculated to avoid drawing the attention of beggars and criminals lurking every corner.

Street children holed up together to provide warmth to each other. Criminals were drinking and singing a merchant song. Some of the beggars created a small fire in their corners to fight the cold breeze of the night. But the hooded person paid them no attention at all.

The hooded person could not take off the hood even with the desire to cover oneself from the wrenching stench of the dirty place.

Turning the last corner of the infamous Pivet Alley, the mysterious person finally saw a dingy-looking clinic. With the way the clinic look, even a rat would not come inside it. It did not have any door and the windows were broken.

"Are you sure you want to go inside?" said the hooded person's companion which the latter responded with a determined nod.

"Stay here." The hooded person did not wait for the companion's reply but instead, the mysterious person went inside the rendezvous point.

The clinic was not used anymore. With the way the things were trashed inside the place, and the dirt that piled up, even the very air the hooded person's breathed were full of dust. This place was abandoned, a good place to meet up like this.

"You came," a familiar voice echoed inside the small clinic. The newly arrived person walked in front of the hood person with a sadistic smile.

"How can I refuse such an offer? But I can't picture you to be a traitor not even once."

The person before the hooded one only replied a nonchalant shrug before giving the scroll that the hooded person desired. "Use this well and remember our deal."

The hooded person suppressed a greedy smile upon receiving the important scroll that would change the course of the future. "You will have it just give me time to reap the fruits of my labor."

A satisfied smiled appeared on the other person's face while watching the hooded person's reaction. The hooded person hid the scroll from plain sight before walking outside the dirty place.

The hooded person was stopped midway upon hearing the other person's words. "See you later, Lady Sabrina."

Sabrina turned to the traitor. "You bet I will."

The person left alone in the clinic pondered what happened on the bridge this afternoon where the envoy got into an accident. Because of this, the plan to kill the second prince got interrupted and thanks to this the plague could not be used as an escape route. The coincidence of the Ming Country's envoy bringing tons of sands to the capital just to be confronted by an accident was over the top. It was clear that Victoria Rozenreff manipulated the scene just to stop the assassination.

Now the dam could not overflow the other side of the river, the Vervain's toxic would not be able to flow into the dried streams that connected to the heart of the capital city. It would take time to remove the sands, by that time; the Vervain's existence would be too risky to be kept so they had to uproot the toxic plants and had to proceed to plan B.